Key Topics

Agent’s lack of duty in carrying out regular inspections

Award

£250 to the landlord

proposed decision

the agent’s management agreement included a clause confirming that the agent would carry out regular quarterly inspections as part of their fully managed service
the tenants made numerous alterations to the property without permission being given and caused damage to the property
he was unaware of the alterations or damage until the tenancy had ended
the agent should be responsible for the cost of repairs

the tenant made alterations to the property without asking for permission
they accept that inspections were not carried out as often as they should have been, due to staff issues and holidays
the alterations are not detrimental to the property and may even be an improvement but accept that if they had carried out regular inspections, they would have been discovered and investigated earlier

Management agreement, check-out inventory and check-out report

The agent accepted a shortfall in their duty to carry out regular inspections as they agreed to do in the management agreement
All management services should be carried out using reasonable skill and care and in a reasonable time and if there were any problems, this should have been communicated to the landlord
Regular inspections would only highlight obvious issues in the property but the agent is not responsible for the tenant’s
The agent is not responsible for the repairs needed to make good due to the tenant breaking the terms of the tenancy agreement
The landlord should claim costs from the tenancy deposit scheme where any deposit taken should be protected
The landlord was awarded £250 compensation for the agent’s shortfall in service

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The landlord should make sure that any deposit taken is correctly protected with a government authorised tenancy deposit protection scheme or use the court service. These services are there to protect landlords for any damages caused by the tenant during the tenancy, and are not the agent’s responsibility to settle
Every agent should carry out agreed services using reasonable skill and care and in a reasonable time
Agents should carry out routine property inspections as agreed and make sure that they are thorough

it is good practice for the agent to provide the landlord with a copy of the inspection report
the agent should keep the landlord informed of any damage or problem highlighted with the aim of resolving any issues identified

The Digital Markets Competition and Consumer Act 2024 guide to Unfair commercial practices offers the most recent information

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